Tennis stars aren’t heroes to taxpayers

It’s disappointing that some Canadian pro athletes officially reside elsewhere, Amir Barnea says.

Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov is an exciting player, and I’m a huge fan. Beyond his extraordinary talent, 19-year-old Shapovalov demonstrated additional impressive sides of his personality in recent months. He showed compassion and sportsmanship when he played his friend Félix Auger-Aliassime in the first round of the U.S. Open; it was moving to watch him comfort Auger-Aliassime after the latter had to quit. Later, after losing in the third round to Kevin Anderson, Shapovalov went out of his way to compliment his opponent for fair play. Anderson tweeted back: “thanks for your kind words after the game. I admire the respect you bring to the game.”

Shapovalov knows that young Canadians are following him and seeing him as a role model. As the CEO of Tennis Canada has put it: “kids will grow their hair longer, and want to be like him.” Shapovalov acknowledged his role in a recent interview saying: “Honestly, the biggest goal for me is to advance the sport in my country.” So far, so good.

But there is one small problem: Shapovalov does not appear to be paying taxes in Canada. According to the ATP website, he now officially resides in the Bahamas. A similar choice was made by fellow Canadian tennis stars Milos Raonic (Monaco), Eugénie Bouchard (Bahamas), and Vasek Pospisil (Bahamas). Premier François Legault has expressed his uneasiness with such decisions. By switching their residence to a tax-shelter country, they avoid paying millions of dollars of tax revenue to Canada, the country that played a key role in the development of their tennis careers, and under whose flag they play in official tournaments. This is very disappointing.

There is nothing illegal in what Shapovalov and fellow Canadian players do, but I find it unethical. Moreover, it’s definitely not the norm among the world’s top players. Based on current ATP and WTP rankings, 11 out of the top 25 male players and only six out of the top 25 female players are tax exiles.

In the recent Davis Cup tie with the Netherlands, surrounded by Canadian flags, Raonic and Shapovalov played their hearts out for Team Canada. But at the same time, they find it totally legitimate to deny millions of dollars to the country that they seem to care so much about. For his part, Milos Raonic established a philanthropic foundation in Canada. According to the foundation’s website, it has committed so far $120,000 in grants.

This is nice, but negligible compared to what would Raonic’s tax bill would have been on about $17.5 million in prize money and additional millions form endorsements.

This behaviour is also ungrateful. Both Raonic and Bouchard were trained at the National Tennis Centre in Montreal. And while Shapovalov decided not to join the centre, he was still supported by Tennis Canada. The non-profit organization, whose goal is to advance tennis in Canada, is stuck in an uncomfortable situation. On the one hand, it wishes to highlight Canada’s biggest success stories and its share in them. But on the other hand, must be upset with their decision to be tax exiles. Embarrassingly, on its official website, these Canadian players are still listed as if they reside in Canada.

Shapovalov is an amazing athlete, but he sends an awful message to Canadians about ethics and moral values. He and his fellow tennis stars who use tax havens give people the impression that paying taxes to your true home country is optional, and the very rich can get away with not doing so. But no, paying your taxes is an absolute necessity.

In this early stage of his career, he has an opportunity to do the right thing and move his residency back to Canada. That would position him as a real Canadian role model. Do it Shapo!